Woven-wire-fence-fabric stretcher.



I SI WI WOVEN WIRE FENCE FABRIC STRETCHER. APPucAnoNrlusu SEPT. 10.i913.

1,1 39,238. Patented May 11, 1915.

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' VIIIIIIII/II/A Witnesses Inventor W hs' 771 I V I Attorney;

UMTED strn'rns PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL TATE, OF PABMA, IDAHO.

WOVEN-WIRE-FENCE-FABRIC 'srnnrcnnn.

Application filedSept'emb'er 10, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL W. TATE, a citizenof the United States, residing at Parma, in the county of Canyon andState of Idaho, have invented a new and useful l/VoVen Wire Fence FabricStretcher, of which the following is a specification.

The device forming the subject matter of this application is astretcher, adapted to be employed in tightening Wire fences, and oneobject of the invention is to provide a stretcher which may bemanipulated to cause the Wire fence to extend past the post whichconstitutes a fulcrum for the stretcher, so that the constituent wire ofthe fence may be stapled down upon said post.

lVith the above and other'objects in View which will appear as thedescription pro- 'ceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the drawings :Figure 1 shows the invention in top plan; Fig. 2 isatop plan of the invention, Fig. 2 depicting the stretching mechanism ina different position from that shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlargedtop plan of the stretching mechanism, the clamp being turned at an angleof 90 from its normal position; Fig. 4 is a perspective of the socketwhich constitutes a part of the wire stretching mechanism; Fig. 5 is aside elevation of the operating lever, parts being broken away; Fig. 6is a top plan of the lever; Fig. 7 is a sectional detail showing amodification; Fig. 8 is a perspective showing an anti-friction bearingwhich is employed.

The wire stretcher comprises an inner tube 20, to one end of which issecured a socket 19 having a transverse head 18 provided with openingsin which the ends of the chains 17 are secured, the latter being con,-nected with a clamp 1. As shown in Fig. 7, tube 20 may be reinforcedby.a supplementaltube 20 The inner tube 20 is mounted to slide in a cap 21,provided with a bead 22,

the cap 21 being mountedupon one end of an outer tube 23 which receivesthe inner tube 20 slidably. Threaded or otherwise secured in the innerend of the inner tube 20 and located within the outer tube 23 ad-Spe'cification 'of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Serial No. 789,120.

jacent the, rear end thereof is a socket 24. A cap 25 is secured to therear end of the outer tube 23. Threaded into the socket 24 and lyingwithin inner tube 20 is a screw 26 provided adjacent its rear end withan abutment. 27. If desired, rollers 28 may be inserted between theabutment 27 and the cap 25. The exposed rear end of the screw 26 isthreaded to receive superposed nuts 29 lying outside of the cap, and theextreme end of the screw 26 is squared as indicated at 30, to receive anactuating crank. which will be described hereinafter in detail.

Surrounding the outer tube 23ris a split collar 31 held in place by abolt 32 and abutting against the cap 21. The bolt 32 serves as amounting for a prong 33 provided with a chain receiving finger 34, theprong 33 including an extended foot 35 having a notch 36 which fits overthe bead 22 0f the cap 21. Obviously, if desired, the prong 33 may bemounted in place upon the outer tube 23 in any desired manner, theshowing of the drawings in this regard being typical merely.

Mounted to, slide along the outer tube 23 is a ring 37 with which isconnected a chain 38. v The ring 37 may be held. in adjusted positionsalong the tube 23, through the medium of the studs 39 which project fromthe tube.

An actuating lever is shown in Figs. 5

and6' and maybe of any desired form. The lever, denoted generally by thenumeral 40 is a composite structure and comprises a bar 41 provided atone end with a handle 42. Plates 43 are united with the other end of thebar 41 by means of securing elements 44. A ratchet wheel 45 is provided,the same being equipped with circular trunnions 46, journaled forrotation in openings in the side plates 43. The ratchetwheel 45 isequipped with a squared opening 47. Resilient pawls 48 are secured asindicated at 49 to the edges of the bar 41, the extremities of the pawls48 being adapted, respectively, 1

in a variety of ways, butthe following steps illustrate one mode ofoperating the structure. The squared end 30 of the screw26 is engaged inthe opening 47 in the ratchet wheel 45, the lever 40 being thus mountedin place on the end of the screw. By manipulating the dog 51 through themedium of the finger piece 52, the end of the dog may be engaged in thenotch 50 of one spring pawl 48, holding the said pawl out of engagementwith the ratchet wheel 45, the other pawl being engaged with the ratchetwheel. Obviously, the function of the dog 51 is to permit the springpawls 48, respectively, to be engaged with the ratchet wheel 45, depending upon the direction of rotation which is to be imparted to the screw26. The lever 41, through the medium of the handle 42 may be used toimpart continuous rotary movement to the screw 26, or, if desired, bymanipulating the pawls 48 through the medium of the lever, the lattermay be employed to impart a step -by step rotary movement to the screw26.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a fence post is shown at 53, the numeral 54 indicatinga brace for the fence post. The brace 54 may or may not be present, butit has been shown in the drawings, in order that different positions ofthe stretcher, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with respect to the fence postmay be more clearly understood.

The ring 37 is slid forward along the outer tube 23 and is held in placebetween certain of the studs 39. The chain 38 is passed around the post53 and is engaged with the finger 34 on the prong 33, to hold the prongadjacent the post 53, as shown in Fig. 1. The screw 26 is actuated bythe lever 40, the screw serving to advance the. inner tube 20 until thesame protrudes beyond the end of the outer tube 23 as shown in Fig. 1.The wire fence which is to be stretched, indicated at 55, is engagedwith the clamp 1.

The screw 26 may be rotated through the medium of the lever 40 until theinner tube 20 is telescoped within the outer tube 23. Then, thepost 53is used as a fulcrum, the tubes 20 and 23 being employed as a lever,this lever being swung around the post 53 until the lever assumes theposition shown in Fig. 2. The prong 33, under thetension er the wirefence 55 will be embedded in the post 53, as shown in Fig. 2. Then, thechain 38 is disengaged from the finger 34 and the ring 37 is slid alongthe outer tube 23' until the ring is in a position adjacent the free 3end of the outertube, as shown in Fig. 2.

row A in Fig. 2. As the stretching operation proceeds, the collar 37 ispushed forward manually, to keep the collar opposite to the bar 57, thuspreventing the collar from binding on the outer tube. The end of thewire fence will finally be carried past the post 53 and may be stapledthereto, as indicated at 58.

In Fig. 1, the inner tube 20 is shown as extended beyond the outer tube23, at the inception of the stretching operation. This step in theoperation need be resorted to only when there is a considerable amountof slack in the wire fence 55. If a short length of fence is beingstretched, or if there is but little slack in the fence, the tube 20will be telescoped within the tube 23 in the first instance, the initialstep in the stretching operation consisting in swinging the telescopedtubes around the post 53, from the position ihown in Fig. 1 to theposition shown in The abutment 27 which constitutes a part of the screw26 exercises its function when the tube 20 is being moved out of thetube 23, the superposed nuts 29 exercising their function when the tube20 is being retracted into the tube 23.

The construction of the stretcher portion of the invention is such that,by a simple op eration, the wire fence may be advanced beyond thestretching post, and be stapled thereto.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A wire fencestretcher comprising a pair of members united for relative longitudinalmovement; means for producing relative longitudinal movement betweensaid members; support engaging means on one member, whereby both membersmay be employed asa lever, one portion of said means being movable forassembly with a fence, at the completion of the lever-wise operation ofthe stretcher and being slidable along said member for assembly with thefence.

2. A wirefence stretcher comprising an innertube; wire holding meansassembled therewith; an outer tube in which the inner tube slides; ascrew threaded into the inner tube and held for rotation but againstlongitudinal movement in the outer tube; a support-engaging projectionon the outer tube; and a flexible element detachably secured at one endto the projection, the other end of the flexible element being slidablealong the outer tube.

3. A wire stretcher embodying a main member; an auxiliary member mountedto move in the main member; a wire holder on the auxiliary member andlocated beyond one end of the main member; operating means connectingthe main and auxiliary. members and adapted to retract the auxiliarymember and the wire holder, the operating means being reversible toadvance the auxiliary member and the Wire holder; and spaced lateralelements on the main member adapted to cooperate With a suitable supportto permit an end for end reversal of the stretcher and to permit thestretcher to be employed as a lever, intermediate the re traction andthe advancement of the auxiliary member, said elements, respectively,affording a thrust bearing, during the retraction and the advancement ofthe auxiliary member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afliXedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

SAMUEL WV. TATE.

Witnesses:

JOSEPHINE TATE, HARVEY R. HATCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. G. Q

